Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-28
VARIATIONS IN STATURE.
THE SIZE OF A PEOPLE PRoPoR-
TIoNATE TO. It's NUTRITION.

THE SIZE OF A PEOPLE Proper
TIoNATE TO. It's kuTRITIoN.
Effect Of Famines-Loss OF Vigorous and
Robust In war-Height Reduced by
F~atigue-Smnll JIen Make Best Sol.
diers.
Considerable differences will be found to
exist when we compare the statures Of the
various races of mankind, and it is the ex-
Aggsration Of this fact that has given rise to
the legends Of dwarf and giant peoples. In
dividuals of the supposed dwarf races would
nppear quite large if compared with real
dwarfs A dwarf much over 5 feet high be-
| CHS 70 loee interest as a dwarf; if Le reaches
4 feet and more, he ceases to be a dwarf, and
Incomes a ''littc mon" Among the smaller
races are the EsQuimaux, averaging S feet 2
| inches; the L~aps~n,en. 5 feet | inch; women,
4 feet 7 inches: the Akkas seen by Schwein-
| furth in Africa; the Ne. rites. of tho Philip
| pine and Aniaman Islands aud Malacca; tho
dwarf race Of Madagascar; and the Bush
mon. whose height ranges from4 feet 5 inches
to 4 feet Ga inches. Among the large races
may he mentioned the Norwcyians, the
Canadians, the North American Indians, the
Caffres, the P~atasonians, and the Polyne-
Stars, the average height Of tho last
two Of which is estimated at about
6 feet. The difference in the mean
height of the various human races is, there
fore, that between 4 feet 5 inches aud 8 feet,
or l foot Z inches. The mean between these
two numbers is about 5 feet 8 inches, and
this standard is generally agreed upon by
anthropologists as a division line in the ap-
proximative classification of tho races ac-
cording to their height. II we may believe
the ancient authors, a large number of giants
and gianteSses attained extraordinary stat
ure, even for persons Of that class. Pliny |
mentions the giant Gobbara, who was o feet
8 inches tall, and two other giants, Poison /
and S~ecundilla, who were half a foot taller; !
Garopius tells of a young giantess who was
10 feet high, and Lecat of a Scotch giant Tx
feet in height. But we may take it for |
granted that these figures are greatly exag- |
gerated, while we have a right to regard rs
authentic giants whose height runs up to SL |
feet. The Grecian giant, Amanab, now IS |
years old: is Z feet 8 inches tall; the Chinese
giant, Chang, 8 feet 8 inches. The Austrian
giant. Wlnckelmeier, who was recently ex-
hiblted in Paris, measuring 81 feet, may be
regarded as a specimen of the highest stature
attained by the human species. At the op-
posite extremes may be found numerous
dwarfs not more than 90 inches, and some
as little as 16 and even IL inches in
height; but such dwarfs are only monsters
with atsophied limbs or twisted backbones,
or stunted infants, whose age is usually ex-
aggerated by their Barnums. One of the
most remarkable dwarfs on record was the
B~orulawsky, who was born in
l7S9, and died in 1887, who was never more
than % inches in height, was perfect in every
and proportion, and was bright and in
The conditions that affect the
stature of populations and races of men NAV
Ill be described under one general head-that
It nutrition. Tho size of a population. a race
'r q group of individuals living for several
generations in the same conditions of en-.
and resources is proportionate to
Is nutrition.
It was long believed that climate alone had
great influence on stature; and, in fact, if
We regard the white or light colored races.
ve remark that the stature is less in climates
L extreme temperatures than in temperate
attitudes. In the extremely. cold Arctic
eglons, the Laps, E~squimaux, and Green
are very small; but coming down
nto more temperate regions and more fertile
o%untries, we find much larger races, like the
torsemen, Russians, Anglo-Saxons and North
fermans in Europe. and the Canadians and
indians in America. Farther south, and as
he temperature becomes hotter, the stature
1minishes; a fact which may be verified
mong the Italians and Spaniards, and which
observed in most of the great regions of the
lobe. These variations are not the effect Of
Innate, but are directly dependent, as We
ave already said, on nutrition. In verv
old climates assimilation is excessive, for the
rganism needs q large quantity of food to
1staln 1t against the outer temperature. If.
l consequence of the -rigor of the climate
the limited resources of the country d
, game and fish, waste is a. little i,
lperlor, or quite equal, to assimilation. the F
subject to such conditions must h
ontinue small. This is the case with the
aplanders and the Esquimaux of the Arctic
lands and the east coast of Greenland. But :,
hen game and fish are abundant tue Stature T =
the tribe rises-as takes place with the Es. !
nmaux. whose average height increases a, p
'elr habitat draws nearer to their southern 81
NIT. There the Esquimaux cease to be 4
warts and reach the average height of SIX Il
or greater than that of the French popu- fir
ton. The influence of climate upon stature Il
therefore, a question of faculty of assimi. n
ton and OF the quantity of available food. y
or this last reason, the fertility of the soil 81
IS a considerable influence upon the size ~ W
10 population. 10
Famlnes and frequent or prolonged dearthe e.
I've the effect OF reducing the size of thx -.
copies who are exposed to them. Wars in n
ice the same result, and this not only by the a.
,eration OF the material disasters and W
iseries which they occasion, but also
rough the loss OF a large number of the
ost vigorous and robust men of the nation.
I'd the enfeebling infirmities and suferings K
those who survive. This is what took IL
ace in France during the long period of K
that prevailed at the close of the Eigh- n;
nth century and during the first empire. +,
ne OF the less recognized agencies affecting a.
AZURE is fatigue, under the influence Of t..
hich the height diminishes. A soldier. fo1 "
stance, is perceptibly taller before than Oh
ter a forced march; when the body il tn
tigued it gives way, the cartileges lose thei1 di
asticity n become thinner, and the fatty
. fbrous cushions, which give spring to
Q organs of locomotion, become less supple
d more ~attenuated, all of which contribute 70
the diminution of height. The fact is pi
own to the tricksters, who practice won u
Jung men liable to military service, SO as to ar
;ure exemptions for them. If the men are de
ly a few centimeters over the minimum tb
'ndard of the service, these practitioners in.
them through a variety of %fatiguing ex- 90,
Uses, with carrying of burdens and priva- '7